


Prompt #035 Scared

by kurgaya



Series: Divine Footsteps [2]
Category: Bleach
Genre: M/M, Translation Available, Перевод на русский | Translation in Russian
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-05
Updated: 2013-04-05
Packaged: 2017-12-07 13:16:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/748918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kurgaya/pseuds/kurgaya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Even after getting married, Ichigo should have realized there were still things he didn't know about Toshiro.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Prompt #035 Scared

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [Зарисовка #035 Испуганный](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4852157) by [a_m](https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_m/pseuds/a_m)



**The Accidental Dominant ******

Ichigo prided himself in being able to read any emotion that frowned its way onto his lover's face. Toshiro was an open book to him, though he only felt he could say this  _after_  they had gotten married because, despite open, he was still a book on quantum physics which Ichigo had no hope of understanding before tying the knot, and he, in turn, was as easy to read as a child's picture book.

(He  _did_  tend to wear his heart on his sleeve a lot. One simple touch from Toshiro's cool hand against his clammy own was enough for the short taicho to know  _exactly_  what his other half was thinking)

The taicho meeting had been the same as ever under Yamamoto's rule: long, dull, and repetitive enough that Ichigo could recite the whole of the opening speech perfectly in time with the old man clutching his wooden staff before them. Still though, the fifth division taicho usually took this time to observe the other people around him, all wearing expressions of equal boredom and the desire to be  _anywhere but here_. And it was during that time, as he discretely stared at the fluffy white mop of hair further down the room, that he realized the Captain-Commander was  _not_  in the best of moods, and the 'thwunk' of his staff hitting the floor was a clear enough message for the youngest of the taicho to  _stop ogling at his husband and pay attention_.

He smiled sheepishly, face lighting up, and turned away to mouth an apology at the man glaring at him, fingers drumming on his staff expectantly. Though his action wasn't fast enough, it seemed, to miss the wince that passed other Toshiro's features, swift and uncomfortable. Ichigo frowned in concern, not caring if his dark expression interrupted Yamamoto's speech for a second time, and made a mental note to ask his husband what was wrong when they were finally released from the clutches of an old man with too much to say.

~~

That time didn't come soon enough for Ichigo, half asleep on his feet when the meeting had finally come to a close. Yamamoto lifting himself to his unsteady feet and hobbling away (with as much grace as he could have, living in his thousands) was the reminder he needed, however, that he needed to talk with Toshiro. Luckily for him the other taicho was waiting outside of the first division walls with his arms crossed, a standard pose for the routine man.

Ichigo approached with a smile, gave him a quick hug, and then cut to the chase.

"What was that about in the meeting, huh?"

Toshiro scowled, halting in the direction that he had been taking them. Neither of them were fools, and if the way Toshiro sighed and held out his hand for his husband to take was any indication, he knew exactly what the topic of conversation had come to be. Ichigo was glad, because he didn't really want to talk any more than necessary about the way his petite lover had grown more and more uneasy as the Captain-Commander's temper wore more and more thin throughout the meeting.

"I'm surprised it's taken you all these years to notice," Toshiro said in a way that tried to stall the inevitable.

"Notice what?" Ichigo asked, knowing there was something  _more_  to Toshiro's behaviour, but not really understanding what that 'more' actually was. He didn't have enough information to make a solid conclusion, and if spending time with the head of the intelligence division for years had taught him something, it was that letting your mouth run faster than your brain was  _not_  a good idea.

Gripping Ichigo's hand tightly as they made their way through the streets, Toshiro began, "The Captain-Commander - "

And those three words were all Ichigo needed to put everything together. The revelation surprised him in more ways than one; he thought he had known all that there was to know about his other half, but obviously not. Toshiro  _was_  a nut that just wouldn't crack, after all. He ran his thumb over the back of Toshiro's hand in reassurance; he didn't feel angry that the shadow existed, just a little concerned. "He scares you, doesn't he?" he whispered softly, not wanting this valuable piece of information to be wide-spread.

_This_  shadow shouldn't really exist at all, to be honest.

A smile appeared on his husband's face for half a second, but it wasn't really a smile. It was more like a 'you've-got-me' grimace that formed it's way onto Toshiro's pale complexion the wrong way up, disappearing after a blink to correct itself.

"Why?" he asked carefully, probing for answers when they managed to go all the way to the fifth division in silence. He received a look that plainly said 'Why not?' for that question, but as they made their gentle way to the office in the middle of the building, Ichigo knew that there was more of a reason than that.

'Why not' was not a good enough reason for Toshiro to be scared of something like his superior officer.

Running this thought through his head a view times, Ichigo served them tea.

~~

"What happens when you put two alpha male wolves into a room together?"

Three cups and a rather wide array of broken sentence starters later, Toshiro seemed to have finally settled on the best way of approaching the topic. Ichigo had let him think it over for a while (long enough to have to refill the kettle at any rate) and had turned his attention to his paperwork. He was sat on the sofa opposite Toshiro though, as being at his desk would have meant they wouldn't have been able to see each other, and Ichigo wanted to know  _exactly_  what his husband's face portrayed as he talked.

"A fight for dominance?" he asked, putting down his brush and setting the piece of paperwork to the side to dry. The rest of the stack was leaning against his thigh, and it tipped dangerously when he shifted his weight and crossed his legs, but he caught it before it toppled and moved it onto the floor. When he sat back up, Toshiro was watching him, clutching his empty cup of tea in his hands.

"So what do you think happens when you put two male dragons into the same room?"

"Oh," said the ginger unhelpfully. Toshiro rolled his eyes in amusement but started chewing his bottom lip, giving Ichigo time to ask another question: "Yamamoto is the dominant male?" He quickly wished he hadn't said that though; the words sounded strange on his tongue and made him feel sick - he couldn't believe he was talking about the Captain-Commander and his husband as if they were  _pack wolves_.

"Not the Captain-Commander," Toshiro said respectively, sighing. " _Ryujin Jakka._ "

It took a second for Ichigo's brain to work out who that was. "Wait - his zanpakuto? What's that got to do with you?"

The response came with a tut. "Ryujin Jakka and Hyorinmaru are both very prideful zanpakutos, Ichigo. Yet when they first met - or when the Captain-Commander and I first met, I suppose - they wouldn't settle for there being two 'alpha' males."

Ichigo could see where this was going. "But surely all male zanpakutos would consider themselves 'alphas'?"

"No Ichigo," Toshiro stressed, using a tone that Ichigo only ever heard when someone was missing what was clearing in front of them. "How many other zanpakutos do you know are  _dragons_? Ryujin Jakka and Hyorinmaru couldn't care less about any of the other taicho's zanpakutos."

Oh. That made sense.

"So you're scared of Yamamoto because...?" He trailed off, raising his eyebrows. Toshiro sighed yet again and put down his cup, averting his eyes to stare at the floor. Deciding that, no, he wouldn't have that, Ichigo got up (remembering not to trip over the paperwork on the carpet) and flung himself down onto the other sofa, wrapping an arm around the other's waist. Toshiro leaned back into him, and the pair comfortably settled in their (as Ichigo had dubbed it) 'it's-okay-to-talk' position, curled up together on the sofa.

"Hyorinmaru is the submissive of the two," explained the older taicho, as if Ichigo hadn't worked that out already. "He doesn't _like_  being below Ryujin Jakka, and his unease - well..."

"It scares you," finished Ichigo, finally understanding. " _Oh Toshiro_ , does Yamamoto know this? Isn't there anything you can do about it?"

"I would be surprised if he doesn't," said the other, shaking his head. "But I can't do anything about it - Hyorinmaru is submissive and - "

_So are you_ , Ichigo thought, hugging his lover close and resting his chin in the snowy hair tickling his neck.  _Which is stupid,_ he added as an afterthought.  _Yamamoto's obviously never seen you when you're horny._

His brain went dead for a second. Toshiro wiggled into a better position between his legs, huffing at the restricting cocoon he found himself trapped in.

_Thank god for that._  



End file.
